Nikki Giumelli
Nikki has worked in the tourism industry since she was 18 and has had an exciting and successful career across the industry she loves and advocates for. Prior to owning her own tourism businesses, Nikki cut her teeth in the industry working as a Cruise Director with the Sydney Showboats, a Reservations Manager with Accor hotels and as the Director of Sales at Ocean Spirit Cruises.
Nikki has owned and operated multi-award-winning marine tourism businesses with her partner Patrick McLoughlin including the iconic Oz Jet Boating Sydney Harbour, Jet Cruiser Whale Watching, Bad Fishy Jet Boating in Cairns and Cairns River Cruises to name a few. Nikki led the team as the General Manager across these entities with a focus on sales and marketing, product development, PR and communications and operations. In a small business, you have to be a jack-of-all-trades and Nikki loves working across all areas of tourism operations and has particularly enjoyed the relationships she cultivated with her teams and the experiences she delivered to her delighted guests over the years. Nikki is acutely aware of the challenges, complexities and need for owner/operators to have capabilities over various roles in their tourism businesses and is a fantastic support and source of inspiration to her clients in this capacity.
Nikki has a love for inbound tourism sales and marketing. She has represented many tourism products in market across South-East Asia and has had particular success with inbound business coming out of the Indian market for her clients. She is also extremely well-connected across the domestic and online distribution space, having attended 14 Australian Tourism Exchanges and representing both her business and others at trade events. Nikki is the elected Vice President (PR & Communications) of Skal Australia, the leading global networking Organisation for tourism and hospitality professionals and she enjoys creating meaningful connections for professionals in the industry.
In 2021 Nikki completed a Master’s in Tourism and Hospitality Management with Distinction at James Cook University and had her research published as a result of her independent study. Nikki was selected by JCU to be a business mentor to their students and to teach tourism students at the University. Nikki enjoys research and has key skills in communications and now works with tourism bodies and government on projects and initiatives that back the industry. During her degree, Nikki focused on sustainable solutions for the industry and was able to connect academic strategy to industry, resulting in her businesses achieving Eco Certification. Nikki is committed to assisting industry to work towards sustainable outcomes, inclusivity, the embracing of culture along with achieving meaningful commercial outcomes. She believes this is all possible, because she has lived experience in meeting these goals within her own tourism business and operations.
Nikki's Skills & Expertise:
Masters of Tourism and Hospitality Management (James Cook University)
Bachelor of English/Education (University of NSW)
Key Skills: Marketing and communications, product development and operations, financial acumen, implementing sustainable tourism solutions, research and strategy, government & industry relationship management.
Patrick McLoughlin
Patrick has worked for 34 years within the commercial Maritime sector, with most of this time spent managing or owning tourism-based products. Patrick began his career as a deckhand with Matilda Cruises on Sydney Harbour and very quickly identified that he wanted to Captain vessels and spend most of his time on the water. After progressing his career as a Captain, he branched out into marine operations. In his role as Operations Manager with Matilda Cruises, he designed, launched and managed a commuter ferry service on Sydney Harbour with tasks including vessel maintenance, crew recruitment, Government-relations, implementing ticketing systems and timetabling. In this role he co-ordinating a fleet of 17 vessels and their crew across daily operation and major events in Sydney such as New Year’s Eve cruises and Sydney Olympics events.
After noting a gap in the market, Pat researched the option to operate a jet boat out of Circular Quay and so Oz Jet Boating was born in Dec 2000, right after the Sydney Olympic games. After being sold in 2011, this now-iconic operation still trades today and is highly successful. Today it boasts a fleet of 4 x 23 seat commercial vessels servicing guests from all over the globe. Off the back of the success of Oz Jet Boating, Patrick assisted other operations to develop including jet boating businesses in Darwin, Port Vila, Singapore and Cairns. Patrick co-ordinated not only vessel build and infrastructure where required but lease agreements and licences, berthing (sometimes requiring to be cyclone-proof), relationships with stakeholders from Cruise Ship companies to Port Authorities.
Recently, Patrick and Nikki have sold their highly successful Cairns businesses including the Bad Fishy Jet Boat, Cairns River Cruises and Cairns Boat Hire to follow their passion for consultancy and industry investment opportunities. Prior to the sale, Patrick managed all facets of marine compliance (including upgrading grandfathered vessels into alignment with NSCV standards), staff training, vessel maintenance, government relations and safety management across the business. Patrick was the key jet boat driver in this operation and inspired exceptional reviews from guests who often commented that his rides were the highlight of their holiday.
Patrick has had a diverse career, working across business ownership and management, project work and product delivery. This includes work in the superyacht industry, managing the needs of inbound super yachts including provisioning and importation, liaising with Australian Borderforce and Immigration, charter planning and vessel maintenance. It also includes time consulting to Great Barrier Reef charter companies regarding their maintenance and compliance, mooring requirements and product development. Patrick has taught at the Marine College in Cairns and has actively volunteered with Sailability and Parley in his hometown. He is committed to safe and thriving marine operations that offer guests outstanding and memorable experiences.
Patrick's Skills & Expertise:
- Marine Master ≤45M (Captain to 45m)
- Marine Engine Driver Grade 2
Diploma of business
RMLV Certificate (Responsible Management of Licensed Venues)
Key Skills: Marketing and communications, product development and operations, financial acumen, implementing sustainable tourism solutions, research and strategy, government & industry relationship management.